How early audience insights reduce innovation failure
Learn how understanding audience habits first prevents costly innovation failures and gives companies a strategic advantage during uncertain times.
May 28, 2025 – Rotterdam
SKIM has been awarded the Best Paper Award 2025 at the Sawtooth Research Conference for “The will of the many: Generating novel concepts using AI-enhanced respondent feedback.”
The winning paper, written by Peter Li (Lead Machine Learning Engineer) and Joris van Gool (Manager), challenges the usual top-down approach to product development. It introduces a scalable, AI-supported method that puts real consumer input at the center of concept generation.
This marks a clear shift. Instead of relying mainly on expert assumptions, our approach uses machine learning to turn respondent feedback into strong, unexpected product ideas. It opens the door to faster, more relevant innovation.
Rethinking how new products are born
Traditionally, product design starts with a small set of ideas crafted by a select group of experts. Designers choose what to explore, based on their interpretation of the market and what they think will resonate.
But that approach often narrows the creative space. What if we could flip the process?
Our team proposed a different approach: using AI to interpret respondent input throughout the concept generation process to produce visual concepts, rather than relying solely on top-down assumptions.
By combining the scale of AI with the wisdom of real consumers, we are able to explore a wider and more diverse range of product possibilities, opening the door to more relevant and innovative outcomes.
A win for innovation and collaboration
“A huge thank you to SKIM, Sawtooth, and the ‘Will of the Many’ team!”
— Peter Li | Lead Machine Learning Engineer
“It’s thrilling to be named a winner among such a competitive group of researchers. We’re honored to bring this award home to the team.”
— Joris van Gool | Manager
The Best Paper Award recognizes the strongest overall contribution submitted to the annual Sawtooth Research Conference. In 2025, SKIM and Numerious Inc. were both honored as winners. This was the first tie in the conference’s history. For SKIM, it’s a strong signal that our approach, using technology to amplify human input, resonates with a broader shift in how innovation happens.
Want to see how AI-enhanced concept generation could reshape your innovation strategy? We’d be happy to schedule a time to discuss your specific challenges.
